Lesson 3 : MANUAL ~ My Cat Cheetoh!

***You can click on the picture to enlarge!

Camera: canon rebel xsi
Focal length: 50 mm
Aperture 1.8
Shutter speed: 1/13
ISO: 100

I started with f 2.8+1/6, but I wanted more blur in the background, so I chose f 1.8+1/13. It was 7:13 p.m., after the sun had already set and it was getting dark quickly, so I needed to let in more light with the aperture I chose. I'm getting better at hand holding because it seems I never have my tripod with me when I need it, therefore I'm getting lots of practice, without it! Lol

Wow, this was a big week and my head is still spinning from everything I learned and put into practice! We were in Manual Mode.....in other words.....no more auto modes! It was a little challenging at first because there was so much to think about, but now I have a better understanding of how the Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO work together to get a correct exposure.

In this lesson I learned how to meter, how to use exposure rulers and how to read and use histograms. I can't believe it....I now know how to get the perfect exposure! I'm so excited about this because I have so many photos that are under or over exposed or have blown out spots.

I absolutely LOVE being in control of the controls on my camera! I'm learning so much and I'm learning even more, in our forum and weekly chats, where we can ask the teacher and other students questions. This class is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in photography and learning how to use your camera!!! Here is a link to the next class I will be taking: Portrait Photography with Candice Stringham

***Here are mine and my teacher's comments...

deje34
[Sep 28, 2009 at 01:21 AM]
Candice, now I'm wondering if I should have increased my ISO, so I could have had a little faster shutter speed, to freeze motion in the event that my cat Cheetoh would have moved while I was taking the pic. I didn't have motion blur or camera shake, so is this slow shutter speed ok?

candice*stringham
[Oct 12, 2009 at 10:13 PM]
Debra! This is beautiful! Seriously lovely! The lighting, the color and the exposure are all great as well as your very majestic cat! But you were right in your comment, it would be best next time to use a higher ISO so you can get a faster shutter speed. You were so steady, and very lucky at 1/13th not to have any camra shake. I'm quite amazed! But next time just to be safe move the ISO up until you can get at least 1/6oth. Really great work on this though. It is wonderful.

deje34
[Oct 13, 2009 at 04:25 AM]
Wow! Thank you Candice! I'm so ecstatic that you like my photo and that I got the lighting and the exposure just right. Woo Hoo....I'm on cloud nine right now! I will try to remember that I need a shutter speed of at least 1/60th when using such an open aperture.

Tonight's Sunset

I was able to capture a couple of pictures of the sun setting tonight and even though, the sky wasn't orange or red, it was still beautiful to me. I love how every sunset is different! I do wish I would have used my tripod, so this first picture wouldn't have been crooked, but I can actually straighten the horizon in photoshop. I didn't follow the rule of thirds in this pic either *tisk, tisk*, but I still like it and maybe I'll just crop it later anyway.

This pic is actually my favorite and I DID follow the rule of thirds on this one. It was actually nice to just take some pics for fun and not have to focus on an assignment, which I still don't have done for this week, by the way. lol I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow though!

Lesson 2 ~ Apertures

Ok, so this weeks lesson was on Apertures and Depth of Field. I tried to come up with something creative to illustrate my assignment, in case you're wondering what's up with the marbles and the mirror, in my side yard? LOL I must say it was a bit challenging, with the wind and my cat Cheetoh putting his paws up on the mirror, to see what I was up to. Not to mention the three cars that came flying up the driveway leaving a cloud of dust floating my way, after I worked so hard, cleaning every little speck off of that mirror! *sniff, sniff* Oh well, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out anyway and I can't wait, til my instructor critiques me. I will add her comments to the bottom of my post, as soon as she gets to my photos, which will be sometime this coming week.....she has hundreds of photos to go through and critique each week!

If you're wondering......YES, the second photo is supposed to be blurry, except for the marbles that I was focusing on! Can you tell which one I was focusing on? I'll give you a hint....it's the one that is sharp and in focus! :)

Lesson 2: Apertures

Closed Aperture

Shutter Speed ~ 1/250
Aperture ~ f/22.0
ISO ~ 800
Focal Length ~ 50.0 mm

***click on the picture to enlarge!

Open Aperture

Shutter Speed ~ 1/4000
Aperture ~ f/1.8
ISO ~ 100
Focal Length ~ 50.0 mm

***Here is the comment from my teacher...

candice*stringham
[Sep 30, 2009 at 08:11 PM]
I love the use of the mirror! Coupled with the open aperture, the photo has the feel that the marbles are floating. Great job obstacles and all!

deje34
[Oct 02, 2009 at 04:08 AM]
Thank you Candice.....I look so forward to your critique, to see if I actually got it right. This assignment was a fun challenge for me and I feel like I was able to get a little creative with it, which by the way, it doesn't come natural for me to think outside the box, but I'm workin' on it! Thank you, for your comment....I am so happy right now!!!

Oh Shoot! Beginning Digital Photography Class

I started my Oh Shoot! Beginning Photography class and I really love it so far! It was so much fun practicing with different shutter speeds and getting the lighting just right. Fortunately, I've already been practicing with the ISO, so I think I'm getting pretty good with that, but we'll see when we get to that lesson now won't we? I'll probably find out that I've got it all wrong. LOL I haven't done my practice assignment on Panning yet and I haven't done my creative assignment yet, but I'm looking forward to it, even though I'm not sure how creative I am. Hmmm, guess I'll find out soon enough!

Anyway, I took lots of photos of my dog Sunny running on the beach and some of my daughter Kasey jumping in the backyard for me, but these were the two I chose to submit to my class gallery.

Lesson 1: Shutter Speeds

SHARP
Fast Shutter Speed ~ 1/3200
ISO ~ 800
F-Stop ~ 2.0
Focal Length ~ 50.0 mm

BLUR
Slow Shutter Speed ~ 1/15
ISO ~ 800
F-Stop ~ 22.0
Focal Length ~ 50.0 mm

These photos have not been edited.....we're not allowed to in our class, so that way our instructor can critique our work, straight out of the camera.

My photos were taken with the...

Canon Rebel xsi
Canon EF 50 mm Lens
Tiffen Filter UV Protector

***Yay, I'm so excited! I got it right! My instructor critiqued my first assignment and so I decided to add her comment, so I can keep a record of how I am doing.

This is what she wrote:

candice*stringham [Sep 16, 2009 at 12:53 AM]
Debra- GREAT job! You did an incredible job handholding at 1/15 second. The rocks are tack sharp yet the water is silky smooth, whereas in the other photo the water droplets are frozen. Shooting in dappled sunlight is one of the trickiest for your camera to meter correctly. You increased the ISO which works here because of the shade and the dark grey rocks, and the end result is a perfect exposure. I'm so glad you had fun with this lesson!

deje34
[Sep 16, 2009 at 05:30 PM]
Yay....I got it right! Candice, thank you for your reply! I look forward to all of your critiques, so that I can learn and improve. Woo hoo, this is so fun!!!

I WON, I WON....Not Just 1, but 2 Giveways!

Why am I so blessed? Seriously....I never win anything, so you can only imagine, how excited I am! Could I possibly be on a winning streak or something? Take a look at these wonderful gifts and try not to be too jealous, ok?

This awesome candle was given to me by H-Mama over at Family Team. Oh how I wish you all could smell it's scrumptous scent.....I say that because it smells like a Latte and I just want to drink it up! Mmmm, it's so yummy! Espresso anyone? I can't even walk by it without stopping to take a whiff. lol Thank you, H-Mama for drawing my name....I absolutely love my candle! Oh and please tell your hubby he did a great job picking this one out......it's exactly the one I would have chosen myself! How perfect is that? :)

Leah from over at Live Life Simply, sent this beautiful necklace that she handmade! Didn't she do a fabulous job? I just love it! I actually left her a comment on her blog, stating that I was already picturing it with the perfect outfit, not knowing that I would actually win it. Isn't that funny? As soon as I opened it today, I went straight into my closet, to see how many outfits it would go with. LOL Thank you, Leah for drawing my name....I can't wait to wear it! You should think about selling these, that is, if you don't already.

Please take the time to visit H-Mama and Leah's blogs and check them out. They both have been such an encouragement to me and they really and truly have been great bloggy friends! I am thankful for both of you and I will treasure my gifts. Thanks a bunch! :)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sunrise

This Made Me Laugh!

My daughter showed me this video today and let me tell you, I laughed so hard! In fact, I watched it like 6 times and just cracked up. I love the very end where Charlie tries to take one last bite out of his brother's hand under the blanket. If you haven't seen this before and you need a good laugh, at someone else's expense, you just have to see it!
***(Please remember to pause my music player before watching the video)!

Wordless Wednesday ~ EEEK....SNAKE!

Which One Is The Best?

Which one of the first 4 pics is the best? (Sorry they're not numbered in order!) Tonight I was playing around with photoshop, trying some different things with this photo that I took of Kasey last January and I'm not sure which one is the best, so I'm hoping maybe some of you can help me decide. I'm not concerned about the frames because I can always change those. I haven't taken the photo editing class yet, so I still don't really know what I'm doing, and I'm not really sure what looks the best. Please help!!!

#1
#4

#2

#3

I like this next one, but does her face look too light or maybe too bright? I'm not sure.

My Blog Has Been Morphing...

My blog has been doing some morphing yesterday and today! I suspect you probably noticed if you stopped by and saw it changing, from one background color to another, followed by an array of changing font colors. So sorry, if you had to see my blog in such disarray, I just couldn't settle on a background color that I liked.

I finally did settle with this one though......it's not my favorite color, but at least it's a warm color. Those of you who know me well, know how I love warm colors! I am pleased with how well, the colors in my header pictures, go with it. I just wish I could figure out how to change the background color on my header from white to a dark color. Ugh! So much still to learn in Photoshop Elements.

Honey, I'm Lost Without You!

My honey is gone camping with almost 30 of the men in our church, plus some of their boys, on their MEN'S EXCURSION! Although I am happy that he gets to go and rough it with a bunch of guys, playing paintball etc., is it too sappy for me to say, that I'm lost without him? I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "OH PLEASE!"

Seriously though, we are coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary on the 18th and when you've spent that much time together, it feels like a part of you is missing, when they're gone. I just love spending time with him, but don't you worry, I am quite capable of using my time alone, very unwisely.

I decided to stay in my pajamas all day today.......play on the computer with my photoshop program.......print out some pictures.......talk on the phone for an hour with a friend who is hurting.......lay in my bed snuggled up in my down comforter for a little time of rest (since I haven't slept a wink in days).......replaced the water in the fish tank after accidentally splattering soap bubbles in it........talk to my friend Michelle for a minute to discuss something with Photoshop.......catch up on some blog reading.......watch the So You Think You Can Dance finale......eat more than I should have........load the dishwasher and then write this blog post. WHEW! IT'S BEEN A VERY HARD DAY! I think I will finish it off with a long hot bath, write in my prayer journal and then go to bed. I REALLY MUST LEARN TO TAKE IT EASY, DON'T YA THINK?

Collages Are Cool!

I'm finally finished with my last project.......WOO HOO! Now maybe I can take a breath before starting the next class. I ran into a couple of problems with this project, which means it took me way longer to do it, than it should have. It's always something really simple too and then I just feel stupid, when I figure it out! I guess maybe I should have thought about taking a basic beginners class first......nawww! LOL

I'm Lovin' This Dragonfly!

I finally finished Lesson 10 that I skipped and I'm lovin' this dragonfly! I was suppose to use two textures in this project, but I took them out because they made it hard to see the detail of the dragonfly. I may go back later and play with some different textures to see if I can find one that looks good. Anyway, I'm just glad I'm finished with this one and now I only have one more to go. Woo hoo!

Almost Finished...

I'm almost finished with my Photoshop class! I have two more lessons to do and then hopefully I can find the time to play around with the different techniques. I should have been done a week and a half ago, but I haven't even had a chance to work on anything. I will be starting a photo editing class, as soon as I finish this one and then I will start a 6 week intensive photography class in September, then after that I will take a 4 week intensive Portrait Photography class, so I think I will be pretty busy, to say the least! I will be sharing my work on my blog as I go. Just to warn all of you......I probably won't be doing a lot of my regular blogging for awhile because I really want to focus on my classes, but I will be sure to blog, once in awhile. I am so excited to learn as much about photography as I can and in the meantime, you can be sure that I'll be taking tons of pictures!

Lesson 11: Selective/Spot Recoloring

This is one of my favorite hummingbird pics, but I prefer the whole pic in color, so I think I will do this technique with a pic I took of a yellow rose bud. I know it will look better! This was the easiest lesson so far.....seriously, I couldn't believe how easy it was!

Lesson 12: Storyboards

Ok, I didn't think about changing the background to a different color until it was too late, so I'm stuck with white, unless I redo it. To make it look better I added a border around the pictures, as well as the whole storyboard. I resized it for the web and now it looks so small that you can't see the pictures very well.......but you get the idea, I guess. This would look really cool framed and on the wall! (actually, I just remembered, you can click on the picture to see a closeup!)

Check Out These Online Photoshop Classes...

Just want to let everyone know about a couple of online photoshop classes that will start pretty soon. Go to jessicasprague.com to check them out. The Photoshop Brush Abilities class is very reasonably priced, at only $ 25.00 and it is self paced, which is really great for me. If you're wanting to learn how to create your own header for your blog, this is the class for you.

Another class that I am interested in taking is the Photo editing: Good-to-Great Workflow. Check out all of the other classes that are available too because there are some great ones to choose from.

Once you register for the class, you will have access to the forum, where you can ask questions if you need help with a lesson. You will also be able to upload your pictures to the gallery where you can receive feedback on your work.

Oh and one more thing.....check out the Free tutorials!
This is an awesome website and Jessica is an awesome teacher, so I just had to share! (I'd like to say a big thank you to my niece, Maryanne for sharing it with me)

More Photoshop Fun!

Lesson 6: TTV "Through the Viewfinder"
Before

This is an old photo of mother with her catch of the day!
After
Lesson 8: Type
Before Timber jumping off a hill!
After
Lesson 9: Edge Burn
Before
Tucker picking up sticks!
After

I think I should have made the edges a little bit darker, but I still think this looks good! I'm really enjoying these lessons, but I can't wait until the two weeks are up, so I can just play with the different techniques.

Oh My Goodness...I'm Hooked On Photoshop!

Lesson 5: Textures

I love this picture! I just finished today's lesson and the techniques were so cool! This was my favorite lesson so far.

I like this pic too....it really looks old and worn.

Ok, this one is boring, but I just wanted to see what flowers would look like and now I know! I can't wait to see what we will be doing tomorrow!!!

Photoshop Progress

Just thought I would post some of my progress from my online Adobe Photoshop class that I'm taking. This has been so fun and yet frustrating sometimes, when I can't figure something simple out. You won't see my project from lesson 2 because I didn't like it and will have to redo it.


Lesson 1: PNG Frames and Word Art (Ryah and Kaylie)


Lesson 3: Create a Vintage, Hand Tinted Look (This is my daughter Kasey)

(Kasey)

I had a hard time with this because I kept feeling like I was taking too much color out of the photo and making her skin too white, so I did it over 3 or 4 times. (Kasey)

In this one I didn't take quite as much color out, so she doesn't look as pale, but I think I tinted her cheeks a little too dark. Ugh!

I used the techniques from lesson 3 for this adorable pic of (Owen Hillard)! I took this pic of him while we were out at the beach with our church family.

Lesson 4: Clipping Masks

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I took these pics off of my back deck tonight......the neighbors put on a good show for us! These pics aren't the greatest quality because I wasn't prepared and I had no idea what setting to use, but that's ok, I had fun taking them anyway. Hopefully by next year I will be a better photographer and I can take some awesome photos of the spectacular fireworks!